What the teachers don´t tell you

[martinemonster]

Do you remember being taught history in school? Now, I only had Norwegian history for 10 years instead of 12, seeing as I transferred to an international school which focused on European, rather than Norwegian modern history, but unless I´m very much mistaken, there was a lot of important stuff left out of my curriculum.

Did you for instance know that the Vikings enjoyed same sex relations?

Or did your teacher or curriculum state anything about the results of Norwegian development aid, or question the views of Norway as a promoter of peace in the world?

Or, most importantly, did you learn that from 1935-1977, more than 44 000 sterilisations were carried out in Norway, and only about half of them were done on condoning patients?

I didn´t learn any of this in high school. The reason I know it now is because I study history at university level. I think it´s time to be more controversial when deciding the curriculum of Norwegian history classes. People should be aware. Or am I wrong? Were you taught this in school? Was I the only one who missed those classes?

And to you people from other countries: Do you ever wonder what might have been left out of your curriculums?

Comments

[nathan-h.livejournal.com]

My understanding on the 'gay viking' issue is that while it was common there was some social stigma in being the 'recieving' man concerned, swince it was sign as a sign of weakness / submission. To be honest, if you put a lot of butch men together for a long period, it tends to happen (c.f. the templars).

As for gaps in our own history, Ireland is hardly mentioned at all in UK history lessons (is william of orange's campaign, cromwell's campaigns, absorbed the country in 1800 and the potato famine all get left out). So to is the Boer war (where Britain invented concentration camps).

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

Hm, I find it interesting that schools choose to avoid the bleaker parts of the history of the country (gay vikings of course being an awesome part of Scandinavian history, stigma or no stigma). The point is to learn, is it not?

[nathan-h.livejournal.com]

(aplogies for appalling typos in previous post. I blame rushing to type during my lunch half-hour).

With some subjects (particularly history) it's very hard to present information from an objective view (indeed, may even be impossible). All teaching contains bias (if only in what is not taught in the finite time available). In some sense, all teaching is indoctrination.

Homesexuality is normally not covered in schools. It might give children ideas after all. Sexuality is not covered in history at all normally.

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

It´s true that it´s impossible to give an unbiased version of history, but that just makes it all the more important to present different views and attempt to show different aspect of a country´s history.

[sortkatt.livejournal.com]

"Homesexuality is normally not covered in schools. "
It is in my school. We have just gotten this awesome book called "Gaykids - kule barn som også finnes" (Gaykids, cool kids that are also there). Lots of anecdotes where adult homosexuals tell about their childhoods.

And although some teachers might still have difficulty speaking about it, at least in my classes the pupils don't. Either the world's going forward, or I'm wearing rose tinted glasses.